10 healthy and hassle-free family meal ideas

Do you want to feel more connected to your friends and family, become more satisfied with your job and help your kids ace their grades at school? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, stop eating alone and start eating with your family. Research suggests that doing so can help you achieve all three aims — and more. The most recent report out of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, lists family dinners as one of the key strategies Americans can use to help prevent obesity and eating disorders among adolescents, and increase the amount of fruits and veggies in their families’ diets.

So as the kids head back to school and family life gets more hectic, turn to these ideas from registered dietitian nutritionists to get healthy meals on the dinner table with ease and minimal stress:

This Sept. 29, 2014 photo shows loaded baked mashed potatoes in Concord, N.H. Potatoes are an easy canvas to work with, playing so well with so many flavors. Mashed potatoes dont need a whole lot of effort to taste amazing; a little butter, a little cream or milk, a bit of salt and pepper, and some muscle really are all it takes to convert boring potatoes into one of our favorite comfort foods. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead) — **1. Baked Potatoes** Leslie Bonci, a sports dietitian and owner of Active Eating Advice, often ends her day with a baked potato stuffed with ingredients like beans, veggies, Greek yogurt, avocado and shredded cheese for a complete meal. Your whole family can do the same, and all members can dress their spuds with their toppings of choice. Stocking up on potatoes can serve you at breakfast, too. Jim White, a husband, father and owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios, for instance, roasts a big batch of potatoes at the beginning of the week and then doles them out each morning in egg burritos. The meal provides everyone in his family with the energy and protein they need to fuel their days. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 03: A view of Spicy Chicken, Tangerine and Shiitake Stir Fry created exclusively for Residence Inn by Marriott by Resident Mom of the Year award recipient, chef and lifestyle entrepreneur Cat Cora at the 2013 Resident Mom of the Year event at Residence Inn by Marriott on May 3, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Cat Cora) — **2. Refrigerator Stir-Fry** Each week, Toby Amidor, author of “Smart Meal Prep for Beginners” and “The Healthy Meal Prep Cookbook,” purges the refrigerator of leftover veggies like peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower to create a stir-fry. She marinates a boneless, skinless chicken breast in teriyaki sauce, cubes it and sautes it along with the veggies. She simultaneously tosses quinoa or brown rice with water in a rice cooker. Voila: The family has a well-balanced meal in 30 minutes or less. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Cat Cora)

DES PLAINES, IL - JANUARY 27: Cans of tuna fish are displayed in a grocery store January 27, 2006 in Des Plaines, Illinois. New data released by the Food and Drug Administration this week shows that 6 percent of canned light tuna samples contained high levels of mercury, which can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults. The study, conducted between 2001 and 2005, found high mercury levels in Chilean sea bass as well. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) — **3. Tuna Sandwiches** When pressed for time, Angela Lemond, owner of Lemond Nutrition, opens up cans of tuna and makes an assembly line of sandwiches to give her family a fast, heart-healthy dinner that’s rich in omega-3s. She serves them with a side salad of baby spinach, sliced red onions and ripe tomatoes for a complete meal. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

Believe it or not, meat can be grown in a dish in a lab.
(Thinkstock) — **4. Burgers** The bigger your family and the more diverse their tastes, the more challenging creating family meals that are acceptable to everyone becomes. But Jessica Crandall, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, refuses to be a short-order cook. So she grills lean beef burgers and sets up a make-your-own burger bar with a platter of whole-wheat buns and bowls of sliced tomatoes, avocados, eggs, cheese and sauteed peppers. Everyone is his or her own chef, and the leftovers can be used for lunch the next day. (Thinkstock)

**5. Quesadillas** Quesadillas are the weekly go-to family dinner for Heather Mangieri, author of “Fueling Young Athletes.” She uses cooked, protein-rich chicken, steak, cheese or eggs and as many chopped vegetables as she can find in the fridge. The kids are happy because they get to choose their own toppings when rolling up their flour tortillas. More importantly, no food gets wasted in the Mangieri home. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

6. Pasta If it only takes one pot to cook it, it is on Keri Gans’ menu. The author of “The Small Change Diet” cooks pasta with store-bought lentil soup and frozen peas, and then tops her dish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Your family can do the same. Clean up is a breeze, too. Because it cooks in about three minutes, angel hair pasta is a family favorite for Rosanne Rust, author of “DASH Diet for Dummies.” While the water is boiling to cook the pasta, she sautes frozen shrimp and peas in a nonstick pan. The cooked pasta is tossed in along with grated Romano cheese. (Thinkstock)

Thinkstock

7. Salmon WebMD nutrition director Kathleen Zelman always keeps salmon in her freezer since it’s a fish that defrosts quickly. She tops the thawed salmon with honey mustard, a mixture of chopped nuts and panko bread crumbs. Then, she bakes it in the toaster oven at 400 degrees F for seven to 10 minutes, depending on thickness. Along with a helping of a whole grain and a veggie medley mix, her family has a heart-healthy meal in minutes. (Thinkstock)

Thinkstock